Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
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- Posts: 174
- Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:18 pm
- Location: Central NJ
Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Hi all,
Several folks have asked for a progress update on the infamous "low-crown acorn nut" escapade from a few months ago, see: https://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vi ... 8&t=110061
Attached are some progress photos of the firebox wrapper as of this evening: the throat sheet, side sheets, and backhead. As a reminder, this is a new-build of a 1.5" scale, 7.25/7.5" Boston and Maine K8b 2-8-0. This is my first attempt at doing firebox wrappers, and I have to give huge kudos to Jack Bodenmann and RussN (NP317) for the inspiration to do this. I first saw Jack do this on the original Berk (probably 15 years ago) and knew immediately I wanted to try to do the same some day, and the "exposed" backhead wrapper that Russ did on his Mikado was really slick. It could not have been a more fun and enjoyable project, and I highly recommend the techniques that Jack has shown us over the years. Thank you, Jack and Russ!
The wrappers themselves are made from 1/16" thick, fully annealed copper. 1.5" thick MDF forms were made (by gluing two 3/4" thick MDF slabs together), and I used a dead-blow hammer with soft rubber faces to "whomp" the sheets into shape. It works exactly as Jack describes, and the thrill of seeing a flat sheet turn into a wrapper is indescribable. Having never done it before and not wanting to chance it, I annealed the backhead wrapper about 6 times during the forming process using a Prestolite torch (air/acetylene). In retrospect, I probably only needed half of that. The throat sheet was done in 2 annealing steps.
I also now understand that another part of Jack's genius (beyond being able to make the parts that he does) is his ability to take pictures of - and explain - the exact steps in the process that you might get tripped up on if you try to do it yourself. On several occasions during this work, I had the "ah ha!" moments of enlightenment as I went back to Jack's threads on his various loco projects and inevitably found a photo that solved the precise fabrication challenge I had at the time.
I hope you enjoy the pics, now back to work for me!
Sincerely,
Adam
Several folks have asked for a progress update on the infamous "low-crown acorn nut" escapade from a few months ago, see: https://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vi ... 8&t=110061
Attached are some progress photos of the firebox wrapper as of this evening: the throat sheet, side sheets, and backhead. As a reminder, this is a new-build of a 1.5" scale, 7.25/7.5" Boston and Maine K8b 2-8-0. This is my first attempt at doing firebox wrappers, and I have to give huge kudos to Jack Bodenmann and RussN (NP317) for the inspiration to do this. I first saw Jack do this on the original Berk (probably 15 years ago) and knew immediately I wanted to try to do the same some day, and the "exposed" backhead wrapper that Russ did on his Mikado was really slick. It could not have been a more fun and enjoyable project, and I highly recommend the techniques that Jack has shown us over the years. Thank you, Jack and Russ!
The wrappers themselves are made from 1/16" thick, fully annealed copper. 1.5" thick MDF forms were made (by gluing two 3/4" thick MDF slabs together), and I used a dead-blow hammer with soft rubber faces to "whomp" the sheets into shape. It works exactly as Jack describes, and the thrill of seeing a flat sheet turn into a wrapper is indescribable. Having never done it before and not wanting to chance it, I annealed the backhead wrapper about 6 times during the forming process using a Prestolite torch (air/acetylene). In retrospect, I probably only needed half of that. The throat sheet was done in 2 annealing steps.
I also now understand that another part of Jack's genius (beyond being able to make the parts that he does) is his ability to take pictures of - and explain - the exact steps in the process that you might get tripped up on if you try to do it yourself. On several occasions during this work, I had the "ah ha!" moments of enlightenment as I went back to Jack's threads on his various loco projects and inevitably found a photo that solved the precise fabrication challenge I had at the time.
I hope you enjoy the pics, now back to work for me!
Sincerely,
Adam
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Looks great Adam! Adds wonderful detail.
May I ask who's butterfly door you are using?
May I ask who's butterfly door you are using?
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- Posts: 219
- Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 7:16 am
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Holy cow Adam, that’s magnificent!
Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh....
Keep up the good work,
Steve
Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh....
Keep up the good work,
Steve
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Looks so nice! Share some pics of the entire engine!
What castings did you use to build the 2-8-0?
What castings did you use to build the 2-8-0?
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- Posts: 174
- Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:18 pm
- Location: Central NJ
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Hi all,
Thanks for the kind words! Those are Howard Gorin's butterfly doors, which I made fully functional on air/steam. Here's a brief video I made on them: https://youtu.be/Gp3VH7d-RQE
The design & engineering of the locomotive is by me (based on the B&M prints of course) with castings by Dave Bortz, Howard Gorin, and me.
Sincerely
Adam
Thanks for the kind words! Those are Howard Gorin's butterfly doors, which I made fully functional on air/steam. Here's a brief video I made on them: https://youtu.be/Gp3VH7d-RQE
The design & engineering of the locomotive is by me (based on the B&M prints of course) with castings by Dave Bortz, Howard Gorin, and me.
Sincerely
Adam
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Thank you Adam.
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Adam:
Delighted to see your progress and success!!
Truly Well Done. You should be proud of your results!
RussN
Delighted to see your progress and success!!
Truly Well Done. You should be proud of your results!
RussN
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Very nice Adam. Your backhead is something else! Beautiful detail.
The backhead on the Berkshire was lagged so we didn't have to do that. The prototype must have been a "warm" locomotive to operate.
Jim Kreider
The backhead on the Berkshire was lagged so we didn't have to do that. The prototype must have been a "warm" locomotive to operate.
Jim Kreider
- Benjamin Maggi
- Posts: 1409
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:38 pm
- Location: Albany, NY
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
That looks very nice Adam. I can't wait to see your engine in person someday. It will be awesome.
"One cannot learn to swim without getting his feet wet." - Benjamin Maggi
- Building: 7.25" gauge "Sweet Pea" named "Catherine"
- Building: 7.25" gauge "Sweet Pea" named "Catherine"
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
Another fine job working copper to give proper detail to the firebox and backhead. Nothing like having a locomotive with such details, which are so often lacking. The extra effort is always worth the end result.
Bigger question is did you fit the copper sheets to the boiler before the boiler was attached to the frame or after the boiler was attached to the frame?
Any issues with fitting of the throat sheet if the boiler was attached to the frame when the copper work was in progress?
Robert
Bigger question is did you fit the copper sheets to the boiler before the boiler was attached to the frame or after the boiler was attached to the frame?
Any issues with fitting of the throat sheet if the boiler was attached to the frame when the copper work was in progress?
Robert
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- Joined: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:08 pm
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
awesome pictures adam!!, it's really starting to look awesome now!amadlinger wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:31 pm Hi all,
Several folks have asked for a progress update on the infamous "low-crown acorn nut" escapade from a few months ago, see: https://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vi ... 8&t=110061
Attached are some progress photos of the firebox wrapper as of this evening: the throat sheet, side sheets, and backhead. As a reminder, this is a new-build of a 1.5" scale, 7.25/7.5" Boston and Maine K8b 2-8-0. This is my first attempt at doing firebox wrappers, and I have to give huge kudos to Jack Bodenmann and RussN (NP317) for the inspiration to do this. I first saw Jack do this on the original Berk (probably 15 years ago) and knew immediately I wanted to try to do the same some day, and the "exposed" backhead wrapper that Russ did on his Mikado was really slick. It could not have been a more fun and enjoyable project, and I highly recommend the techniques that Jack has shown us over the years. Thank you, Jack and Russ!
The wrappers themselves are made from 1/16" thick, fully annealed copper. 1.5" thick MDF forms were made (by gluing two 3/4" thick MDF slabs together), and I used a dead-blow hammer with soft rubber faces to "whomp" the sheets into shape. It works exactly as Jack describes, and the thrill of seeing a flat sheet turn into a wrapper is indescribable. Having never done it before and not wanting to chance it, I annealed the backhead wrapper about 6 times during the forming process using a Prestolite torch (air/acetylene). In retrospect, I probably only needed half of that. The throat sheet was done in 2 annealing steps.
I also now understand that another part of Jack's genius (beyond being able to make the parts that he does) is his ability to take pictures of - and explain - the exact steps in the process that you might get tripped up on if you try to do it yourself. On several occasions during this work, I had the "ah ha!" moments of enlightenment as I went back to Jack's threads on his various loco projects and inevitably found a photo that solved the precise fabrication challenge I had at the time.
I hope you enjoy the pics, now back to work for me!
Sincerely,
Adam
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- Steamer Al
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- Joined: Tue May 26, 2020 3:17 am
- Location: Comox, BC
Re: Firebox wrapper on a 1.5" scale 2-8-0
What a beautiful peice of work!! Worth every minute of time for sure.